AnimEigo, a prominent licensor and distributor of anime and Japanese cinema, has revealed plans to release the anime titles Hotori: Simply Wishing for Hope and Alien Nine on Blu-ray in North America. Both titles are anticipated for a 2026 release under AnimEigo’s “Ruined Childhood” imprint. The announcement was made during AnimEigo’s industry panel at Otakon 2025.
Hotori: Simply Wishing for Hope Makes North American Debut
The upcoming release of Hotori: Simply Wishing for Hope marks its first home video availability in North America. This television special, produced by Sunrise and directed by Takashi Anno, originally aired in August 2005 and was a recipient of a 2005 Animax Award.
The narrative of Hotori: Simply Wishing for Hope centers on the bond that forms between a robot boy, Suzu, who has been implanted with the memories of a deceased boy named Ryo Ogura, and a terminally ill girl who is gradually losing her memories. This contrasting circumstance of gaining memories versus losing them forms the core of their deepening connection.
Alien Nine Returns to Home Video
Also slated for a 2026 Blu-ray release is Alien Nine, a four-episode Original Video Animation (OVA) series that first debuted between June 2001 and February 2002. The anime is an adaptation of Hitoshi Tomizawa’s manga, with Yasuhiro Irie (known for Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood) directing episodes 2-4 and handling character designs, while Jiro Fujimoto directed the first episode. J.C.Staff animated the series.
Alien Nine plunges viewers into the peculiar and unsettling world of Yuri Otani, a melancholic 12-year-old who, against her will, is elected to the “Alien Party” at her elementary school. This team is tasked with capturing aliens that appear on campus. Yuri, along with her two classmates, Kumi Kawamura and Kasumi Tomine, are equipped with “Borgs,” symbiotic alien creatures resembling winged frogs that are worn like helmets and provide weaponry. Despite its initial seemingly cute art style, the series is noted for its underlying dark and psychological themes, exploring fear, anxiety, and the trauma experienced by the young characters. AnimEigo’s Blu-ray release will feature the episodes in high definition, including both the original Japanese audio with English subtitles and an English dub. The series was previously licensed and released in North America by Central Park Media, but their bankruptcy in 2009 led to the titles going out of print.
AnimEigo’s Expanding Catalog
AnimEigo has a long history, founded in 1988, as one of the first North American companies to license and distribute anime. The company has utilized crowdfunding, particularly through Kickstarter campaigns, for re-releases of classic titles like Bubblegum Crisis and Gunsmith Cats. In addition to these newly announced 2026 releases, AnimEigo also provided updates on other upcoming titles for 2025. This includes the 1968 Sasuke TV anime (October 14, 2025), Looking for the Full Moon Vol. 2 (November 11, 2025), and the Black Jack OVA series (December 16, 2025). The company continues to highlight its ongoing “The Anime Business” documentary series, available on YouTube, which explores the history of the Western anime industry.
